He announced on Tuesday that Washington would provide an additional $90m over the next three years to help Laos, heavily bombed during the Vietnam War, clear unexploded ordnance, which has killed or wounded 20,000 people. Instead, he called the conflict a reminder that “whatever the cause, whatever our intentions, war inflicts a awful toll – especially on innocent men, women and children”. Obama instead will meet on Tuesday with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea.
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President Barack Obama is touring a rehabilitation center in Laos that treats survivors of bombs the USA dropped on the country during the Vietnam War. He later apologized and explained that it was due to continuous pressure from the USA officials over his war against drugs, in which 2000 people have died. Obama says the USA dropped some 270 million cluster bombs, including 80 million that never exploded and remain a threat.
Obama also toured a Buddhist temple Wednesday in mountainous northern Laos where he paid tribute to the nation’s rich culture.
Also discussed in the one-on-one talks is the Philippines’ relationship with its treaty ally United States.
U.S. President Barrack Obama’s one of the signature policies have been “Asia-Pacific Pivot”, which was targeted to increase the influence of America in the region to prevent China’s expansion desire. The project has yielded uneven results.
The first United States president to set foot in Laos while in office, Mr Obama lamented that many Americans remain unaware of the “painful legacy”.
Obama spoke of that legacy as he visited a center in Vientiane called the Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise that offers treatment for survivors.
“We believe that bigger nations should not dictate to smaller nations and that all nations should play by the same rules”, he said.
The $90 million to clean up unexploded bombs adds to the $100 million the US has committed to the effort in the past 20 years, as annual deaths have fallen from more than 300 to fewer than 50, the White House said.
Obama says as part of the partnership to clean up unexploded bombs, Laos has agreed to step up efforts to recover remains and account for Americans missing since the war.
As he opened a day of ceremony and diplomacy, Obama was greeted by a military band, traditional dancers and a warm, tropical rain. “You just can not shoot a statement against the president of any country”.
Yet Obama’s outreach took an uncomfortable turn just as he headed to Laos from another summit in China.
The U.S. State Department and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday stressed the need for ties with the Philippines to be based on mutual respect, after Manila’s new leader raised worries about the future of the key alliance by calling President Barack Obama a “son of a bitch”.
The next day, the Filipino president walked back his comments in a new statement, saying they were not intended “as a personal attack on the US president”.
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According to Duterte, the reporter “just threw questions and statements” to which Duterte responded with his trademark off-color manner of speaking.
